


Home

by Hobbit_Riddlebird



Series: Nymobblepot Week 2019 [5]
Category: Batman (Movies 1989-1997), Gotham (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast Fusion, Arranged Marriage, Fairy Tale Curses, Forced Marriage, Fractured Fairy Tale, M/M, Nygmobblepot Week 2019, not Disney
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2019-12-29 20:28:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18301382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hobbit_Riddlebird/pseuds/Hobbit_Riddlebird
Summary: Nygmobblepot Week 2019Day 6 FairytaleA Riddlebird / Nygmobblepot Beauty and the Beast fic.





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**Author's Note:**

> A Beauty and the Beast fic Gotham style.
> 
> Ed is based on S1 Ed  
> Penguin is based on a mix of Gotham-verse and Devito. 
> 
> This was fun :)

Ed stopped outside the chamber door and knocked softly. “Mistress Kringle? The carriage awaits to take you up the hill.” 

 

“I am almost ready,” he heard her through the door. “You may come in, Nygma.” 

 

He hesitated, it was supposed to be bad luck to see the bride before her wedding day but he supposed it would not matter that he was not the groom. He opened the door and tried to keep his head down like a good servant. 

 

“So, how do I look?” Kristen held her arms out in front of the floor length mirror. “Like a proper virgin sacrifice?” 

 

“You look…,” he looked up without meaning to, “beautiful, any man should be lucky to have you be his bride.” His heart ached to see his childhood friend in bridal white, he had dreamed of this day, dreamed of the day it would be  _ him  _ trading wedding vows with his first, his only, love. Instead he was to give her over to one who did not deserve her. 

 

“Any man or monster,” she smirked. “Isn't that right, Ed?” 

 

They called him a monster, a freak! 

 

“Please, do not do this,” he grabbed her hand and squeezed tightly. “You can run away, we can run away, together. I will keep you safe, I swear it on my life.” He brought her hand to his mouth, not quite daring to kiss the back of it. 

 

“And then what?” Kristen held his hand. “Would you have me ask another to take my place?” She whispered, “Can you keep a secret, Ed?” He nodded, he would've promised her anything. She showed him a knife hidden in the folds of her dress. “This ends with me, no more women will be sacrificed to the Penguin of the Iceberg. His marriage bed will fill with blood,  _ his.”  _

 

“He will kill you, Mistress Kringle,” he begged. “Maybe… maybe, if you do what he wants he will spare your life.” 

 

“You would have me lay for that  _ monster  _ and spread my legs for his demon  _ cock,”  _ she huffed. “I will  _ not  _ be another victim, never again.” Ed blushed at her chosen vocabulary and was embarrassed by how it made the blood rush to his nether regions. Maybe  _ he  _ was the monster. “I thought maybe you would understand.” 

 

“I do understand,” he told her. He understood that standing up to bullies only caused it to hurt worse. “The Penguin will kill you if you attack him.” 

 

“And I am willing to exchange my life for his,” she hissed back. “He has taken one of Gotham's own every year since that cursed Iceberg showed up. One way or another, this ends tonight. I will not  _ let  _ him take another girl.” 

 

“They say he is a monster, a hunchback with flippers for hands and feet, and that he has teeth like a piranha,” Ed said. They said other things as well, things he could not speak of in front of a lady, things like his penis resembled a cold fish and smelled even worse, and that his cum was black oil like an octopus’s ink. 

 

They said many things, but no one had actually seen the Penguin and lived to speak of it for as long as Ed could remember, although many claim to have seen him. 

 

Ed had wished to see the monster himself. But he frightened him. 

 

“I am not afraid, Ed,” Kristen said as though she were reading his thoughts. “Gotham has been held in fear too long. It is time for the sun to shine on Gotham once again, even if I do not live long enough to see it, I will feel it, I will know before I die.” 

 

Ed squeezed his eyes shut. If only he could be as brave as Mistress Kringle. But maybe he didn't have to be. 

 

“I will go with you,” he spoke. 

 

“Ed?” 

 

“I want to go with you,” he opened his eyes. 

 

“Ed, the Penguin kills all men who lay eyes upon him.”

 

“I know,” he swallowed. “It is a sacrifice I am willing to take.” 

 

“Oh, Ed!” Kristen hugged him tight. “Thank you.” 

 

He could not live in a Gotham without Mistress Kringle anyway.

 

XxXxXXxXxX 

 

Kristen stopped in front of the large door seemingly constructed from ice. 

 

“Maybe we are supposed to be knock?” Ed touched the door with his palm, it was cold but not icy as he had expected. And there was no doorknob that he could tell. 

 

Kristen pushed on my door and with a loud crack it started to push in. She looked at him and shrugged. “What use would a locked door be to the Penguin?” 

 

He rubbed his fingers together, there was no wetness on them. The Iceberg was constructed from ordinary materials and not ice, he realized, despite its name.

 

“There could be a trap waiting for us,” he held her wrist. 

 

“You can still turn back, Ed,” she told him quietly. “I will think no less of you.” 

 

She thought so less him she could not think less of him, he thought. He was done being thought of a coward. 

 

“I will not abandon you, Mistress Kringle,” he plead. 

 

“Thank you,” she kissed his cheek. “You are a good friend, Ed.” 

 

Good friend, he touched his cheek where she had kissed him. He was willing to die for his love of her and she would never see him as anything other than a friend. What was he doing here, he wondered too late. 

 

Kristen pushed the door completely open and he followed her through. The door slammed shut behind them.

 

The inside of the Iceberg looked like any other mansion would, not that he had seen many. But there were blue tinted lights along the walls that flickered with a fire he did not know the source of. He held out his hand towards the flame, it was cold not hot to the touch. 

 

“Fascinating,” he whispered. And beautiful, he felt a little like the moth drawn to the flame. 

 

“Shhh…,” she grabbed his arm. “Do you hear something? It sounds like someone laughing.” He tilted his head to listen. He  _ did  _ hear something, it sounded like someone giggling. And it didn't sound friendly. “Someone else is here other than the Penguin. We should follow the sound.”

 

Ed could think of at least four reasons why they should  _ not  _ follow the sound of the giggling but they couldn't wander around the Iceberg alone forever, could they? Although he was not sure he wanted that find out the type of people who would laugh in a place like this. He followed behind Kristen, checking behind him feeling like someone was following them. 

 

They found what appeared to be a sitting room with two young women sitting close together on the sofa. Both heads turned towards them, one had fire bright hair the other was a petite blond. 

 

“Um…, hello,” Kristen stepped forward. “My name is Kristen Kringle, this is my friend Edward Nygma.” 

 

“Is it that time of the season already?” the redhead rolled her eyes. “Let me guess, Gotham sent you to the Iceberg to stop winter from coming. They think if you warm Pengy's bed the snow will melt and spring will come early, foolish men. Mother Nature cares nothing for mankind. And anyway, you're not even his type. You might as well turn back and go home.” 

 

“Do not mind Ivy,” the other woman got off the sofa. “She always gets a little cranky when it snows. My name is Alice Tetch and this is Ivy Pepper.” 

 

“I've told you,” the first woman stood up. “My name is Poison Ivy now.” 

 

“Teenagers, am I right?” the one called Alice shrugged. “But she means well, mostly.” 

 

Ed thought he must have misunderstood, Ivy looked to be in her mid to late twenties, hardly a teenager and older than her companion. Maybe it was a personal joke among the women, he reasoned. 

 

“Are you the Penguin's prisoners?” Kristen asked them. Ivy laughed loudly. “Does he not keep you here?” 

 

“We could leave at any time,” Alice answered, “if we wished to.” 

 

“Then why not return to Gotham?” Kristen asked her.

 

“We have no home in Gotham,” Alice replied. 

 

“The Iceberg is our home now,” Ivy added. 

 

Ed had read about hostages sympathizing with their captors, the women seemed to see this Penguin has some kind of protector. This would complicate things. He wondered if there more of them within these vast halls. 

 

“Pengy will like you,” Ivy reached out and touched Ed’s face. “And if he doesn't want you, I might take you for myself,” she giggled. “He won't mind if I take a little nibble,” the young woman leaned forward as though to kiss him. 

 

He should move away from her but he could not move, could not look away from her swirling green eyes, he felt hypnotized in her sights. He had never been kissed, he had been saving himself for Mistress Kringle, but Kristen had made it clear she did not feel the same way he did her. 

 

“Ivy,” he heard the one named Alice call out faintly. 

 

“If you hurt him, I will stab you through the heart,” he heard Kristen speak with steel in her voice. 

 

_ Click… click… click…  _

 

All other sound stopped but the strike on the wooden floors.

 

“Step away from the gentleman, Ivy,” the new voice was male, light but forceful. He did not need to turn around to know that the mysterious Penguin had finally made an appearance. “And I believe I will take this before someone gets hurt, my dear. One should not wave a knife around ones host,” he chuckled, the sound caused goosebumps on the back of Ed's neck. 

 

“I didn't mean anything, Pengy,” Ivy’s voice wavered in fear. 

 

“I'm sorry, Penguin,” Alice bowed deeply, forehead touching the floor. “I couldn't stop her.” 

 

“Rise child,” the Penguin sounded almost fond. “As for you, Ivy, consider yourself  grounded. Now go to your room. I will have Bridgit bring you something to eat.” 

 

“Thank you, Pengy!” Ivy glared at Ed before leaving with Alice, as though her being grounded were  _ his  _ fault. What kind of place was this anyway, he wondered. 

 

“Never sent me a bride and bridegroom before,” the Penguin laughed, or maybe wheezed. “And bearing a gift no less, give me one reason not to slit your boy's throat here,” he pressed the knifepoint against Ed's throat. 

 

Ed did not raise his eyes, somehow it was easier to be brave when facing the Penguin's feet only. He felt his presence pressing around him though, the power was almost suffocating. And the scent of fish was heavy in his nose and throat. He felt like gagging. 

 

“I am the sacrifice,” Kristen raised her voice. “I am the virgin bride, the boy means nothing let him go.” 

 

“Do not lie to me, girl,” the knife disappeared from his throat. “You are not truly a virgin now, are you?” he sounded amused. 

 

“What do you- you couldn't possibly know that,” she said weaker.

 

“I do now, of course,” he chuckled. “But this one,” he sniffed at Ed. “You  _ are  _ a virgin, aren't you boy? A pretty young bridegroom to warm my bed this winter. Yes, you will do fine.”

 

“No!” Kristen yelled out. 

 

Ed blinked awake. Yes, to save Kristen he could take her place. 

 

“I will agree,” he spoke quietly. “I will take Mistress Kringle’s place, if you let her go free.” 

 

“Ah, the boy can speak I hear,” the Penguin forced his head up. “And can the boy look at the Penguin without flinching, I wonder.” 

 

Ed opened his eyes and braced himself not to give anything away. 

 

The Penguin was a man, a very ugly misshapen wretch of a creature, but a man nonetheless. Ed meet his eyes and did not flinch, his eyes were the only beauty to be found on his face. 

 

“What is your name, boy?”

 

“Ed. Ed Nygma. And I am twenty-four, I am not a boy.” He felt like a man for the first time staring down the Penguin. 

 

“And Ed, Ed Nygma,” his thin mouth twisted in a crooked smile. “Will you be betrothed to the Penguin? Do you pledge yourself, in sickness, in health, in life and death?” 

 

“I… do, I will,” he said deeply. 

 

“I agree to the terms of the agreement,” the Penguin turned to Kristen. “You are free to leave, dear.” 

 

“I won't leave you to this  _ thing,  _ Ed.” 

 

“It is done, Mistress Kringle,” Ed felt a strength he had not before. “Leave and forget about me.” He was sure it would not take her long. 

 

“I will come back, Ed,” she whispered loudly. “I promise, I will send help.” 

 

“Go quickly before I change my mind,” the Penguin told her. “It is not too late to make myself a widower.”

 

“I won't forget,” she promised and ran off in the direction they had come in, leaving him alone with the Penguin. His  _ husband,  _ he remembered. 

 

“What do you say we break in our wedding bed now?” the Penguin chuckled. 

 

“I… it would be my pleasure, husband,” Ed stuttered. Now that Kristen had left it was much harder to be brave. 

 

The Penguin knocked his cane against the flooring. “You can come out now, Nora. I know you're there.” 

 

Another woman, this one with blue skin and white hair shuffled out in the open. “Yes, Master Penguin?” 

 

“Show Mister Nygma here to the Master quarters,” the Penguin ignored Ed. “I cannot be bothered.”

 

“Yes, sir,” Nora bowed. “Follow me, Mister Nygma.” 

 

Ed looked at Penguin, feeling something like disappointment at being dismissed so easily. He followed Nora quietly up the stairs and across the hall.

 

“These are to be your rooms, sir.” She opened the grand door.

 

“When am I to expect Master Penguin?” 

 

“What do you mean, sir?” 

 

“Are these not his rooms?” he asked confused. 

 

“No, Master Penguin does not stay here,” she answered. “This suite belonged to his father. I will bring you breakfast in a morning.” 

 

Ed entered his new home and it was locked behind him. 

 

XxXxXXxXxX

 

Ed found himself moving towards the floor length mirror. His reflection was blurry in the dirty surface. He attempted to wipe the dirt off, but it wouldn't come off.

 

_ ‘Kristen never loved you, why would anyone love someone as pathetic as you?’ the reflection giggled.  _

 

“She is my friend, she cares about me,” he argued. 

 

_ ‘She left you without even turning back.’ _

 

“She said she will come back with help,” he insisted. 

 

_ ‘She is not even a virgin,’ the reflection smirked. ‘Who do you think got her to spread her legs for them? Jim? Harvey? Lucius, maybe? Maybe all three?’ _

 

“Shut up, she's not… she's not like that!” he put his hands over his ears but could still hear the other. 

 

_ ‘Penguin wanted you, he would spread you out on the bed and stick his thick heavy cock up your tight little arse, you would like that wouldn't you? He might be ugly as sin but he's a real man, and he would show you what real men do to pansies like you.’ _

 

Ed squeezed his eyes shut but he couldn't hide from the truth. There had been something seductively compelling about the monster. 

 

“No!” he yelled out and threw the mirror across the room. No, he would not allow the Penguin to do  _ that  _ to him. He had to get out of here before he looked for him. He went to the window and opened it, surprisingly it wasn't locked. He leaned out, it would be a tricky climb down but there was a bush that would break any fall. He started to crawl out. About half way down he slipped and fell the rest of the way down. 

 

His breath was knocked out of him, but after a moment he scrambled off the bush and ran off into the night in the direction of town. 

 

XxXxXXxXxX

 

It was time to admit it, he was lost. The night was darker than he had anticipated and the tall trees covered the moon. And there was sounds of movements all around him. He was almost tempted to turn back to the Iceberg but he had lost all sense of direction. 

 

That was when he heard them above him breaking through the trees, something brushed against his hair and he tried to take cover. He hid his face behind his hands and peeked between his fingers, they were bats, very large bats. And there was no escape. 

 

He heard something crash through the trees, something even heavier than the bats with a wingspan that threatened to blow him off his feet. He heard a pop and suddenly he was behind a very large umbrella and the Penguin was helping him to his feet. 

 

“You will have to hold on to me, Ed Nygma,” he swirled the umbrella to keep the bats away. “I will fly us back home.” 

 

“I didn't know penguins can fly,” he started to giggle.

 

“This one can,” he said. “And you should be grateful, otherwise you would've been bat guano if I were but one moment later.” 

 

Ed  _ did  _ owe the Penguin his life, didn't he, he realized. “Penguin, I owe you an apology, I made an oath and I shouldn't have run away.” 

 

“No you should not have,” he looked at Ed, his eyes glowed even bluer in the revealed moonlight. “We will speak of the terms of your disobedience when we get back.” 

 

“I will agree to take whatever punishment you seem fit to give me,” he looked down, he could not meet Penguin's eyes. 

 

“I am not a monster, Ed Nygma,” he gave a heavy sigh, “in spite of my appearance. Now hold on to me, I grow cold out here.” 

 

Ed wasn't sure where to place his hands, he wrapped himself around the Penguin's ample stomach. It was both softer and warmer than he had expected, and not completely uncomfortable. In fact it felt rather nice. 

 

The Penguin stiffened beside him. “Um.. yes. It might be easier to hold on if you put your arms around my neck. We wouldn't want you to slip off mid flight after all.” 

 

“Sorry!” Ed wrapped his arms around his neck and tucked his face into him. “I'm ready now.” He felt the Penguin put an arm around his back while the other still held the umbrella. The Penguin made him feel strange things, made his body react in strange ways. 

 

But before he could think they were leaving the ground behind. 

 

He was afraid to look and at first he did not notice they were losing altitude. “Brace yourself, Ed. We're going down,” the Penguin shifted so Ed landed on his cushioning belly. 

 

Ed held his head, it felt like someone had given his brain a nice shake. He lifted up. “Penguin? Are you alright?” he found himself actually worried about the monster.

 

“Ed? Ed Nygma is that you?” a deep voice called out.

 

“Jim? What are you doing here?” He was relieved the constable was here, he could help him with Penguin. 

 

“Kristen told me what happened, Ed,” Jim stepped into the moonlight, his gun braced in front of him. “Step away from Penguin, I've come here to end his reign of terror tonight.” 

 

“No!” Ed yelled out. He couldn't allow Jim to hurt, to kill, the Penguin. 

 

“You're safe now, Ed.” Jim put his hand out, his other still held the gun. 

 

“You don't understand,” Ed blocked the Penguin with his body. “Penguin rescued me, he didn't have to, he saved me, and now he's hurt because of me. And… and I won't let you hurt him. I won't.”

 

“Ed, please, be reasonable,” he stopped. “Kristen is worried about you, just come back with me.” He put the gun away and held up his hands. “Leave Penguin here and come home.”

 

“No,” he shook his head. “I don't trust you.” 

 

“Kristen is your friend. I am your friend, Ed. You can trust me.”

 

“You all feel sorry for me,” he stood up. “You and Harvey laugh at me, call me a freak. Maybe I have found my home of freaks like me,” he pointed to Penguin. “This  _ freak  _ has accepted me in a way you all never have.” And he had ran away from him! He grabbed the broken umbrella and held it up to Jim. 

 

“Alright,” Jim backed away from him. “I'm leaving, Ed. But I will be back with the others. If you choose to stand with Penguin, you will die next to him.” Jim left them. 

 

Ed collapsed on the ground crying, what had he done.

 

“Ed Nygma,” the Penguin touched his hair. “Are you ready to go home?”

 

He nodded. “Yes.” 

 

Ed had found a new home, a home that wanted him. 

 

XxXxXXxXxX

 

The boy was foolish, Penguin thought. He should've left with his  _ friend  _ when he had a chance. The boy was going to bring nothing but trouble by being here. He dropped the boy in the foyer. 

 

“Pengy, you're back!” Ivy rushed towards them. “We were worried something had happened to you.”

 

A sharp pain pierced his shoulder where one of the bat creatures had gotten their jaws in him. He felt himself fall to the floor. 

 

“Pengy!” he heard Ivy call out.

 

“Penguin!” the boy tried to catch him. 

 

“Get Gertrud,” he whispered before passing out. “Get my mother.” 

 

He heard Nora call out for Butch.

 

XxXxXXxXxX

 

Ed followed behind the large hulking brute that Nora had called Butch. The man appeared to be human, although whether alive was another matter, however he carried the Penguin as though he weighed little more than a child. 

 

He was worried about the Penguin but he was also concerned for himself should anything happen to him. He thought it best to stay close to his protector for his own safety. 

 

Butch carried Penguin to a bedchamber not far from the one that had been given to Ed and deposited him, ungently, on the large sized bed. He turned back without a word but stopped in front of Ed. 

 

“Grundy born on a Monday,” he grunted. 

 

“Ed Nygma,” he tried not to put his hand on out. Butch, or Grundy, pushed him roughly aside and left the room. 

 

“He doesn't like you,” Ivy knocked into him on her way in. “If something happens to Pengy I will ask him to tear you limb from limb.” 

 

“Ivy, out. Leave us,” and older lady came into the bedroom and shooed the young woman out. 

 

“Yes, Mama Gertrud,” Ivy kissed the lady's hand and left. Ed turned to follow but the older woman stopped him. 

 

“You must be young man I have heard so much about,” she took hold of his face. “The young man my sweet boy married. You have good face, my Ozzie chose well in you, I think.” 

 

Son? Penguin had called for his mother before he fainted but he hadn't thought… she didn't look anything like him! 

 

“Ozzie?” he repeated. 

 

“You did not think a mother would name her only born Penguin, now did you?” she giggled. “His birth name is Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot Van Dahl. It is good name, not like Penguin. And you, Ed Nygma, will you be taking the family name?” 

 

“I'm not sure that would be proper,” he answered. What was the protocol when a man married another man, he did not know. “Have the Penguin's other brides taken his name as well?” He did not mean to sound jealous but, well, he was. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of sharing his husband. 

 

“Ozzie is not married to girls,” she smacked his chest. “My Ozzie good boy! He not like girls in such a way.” She moved towards the bed. “Imagine such a thing, my little Ozzie,” she spoke to her son. “Your own husband accuses you of having harem.” 

 

“Then why demand virgin brides from Gotham every year?” 

 

“Maybe that is a question for your good Mayor Galavan,” she looked up from her son. “My son give those sad discarded girls a home, they have family thanks to my boy, and he the villain. Mayor Galavan pretty on outside but ugly and twisted inside. He the monster of Gotham boy, not my Ozzie!”  

 

Ed held his hands out in supplication. “What is the matter with Penguin?” 

 

“He has illness, curse,” she went back her work. “He should not have been so far from home.” She started to remove his suit, Ed turned away in embarrassment. 

 

He looked around the bedroom, he supposed it must be where the Penguin slept although there was little to mark the personality of the man. There was a picture frame of a dark haired young man on the dresser, the man seemed as if he should be familiar but he had never seen him. 

 

A past lover perhaps? Ed already hated his pretty face, his pretty eyes. He gasped, he knew those eyes in the face of the monster. He picked it up. 

 

“Is this his father?” he asked Penguin's mother. 

 

“That is my boy before the curse,” she replied proudly. “He handsome boy, is he no?” 

 

There was something to be found of the boy in the monster, he thought. The eyes and the set of the mouth. But what could turn such a handsome young man to such a beast, he wondered. 

 

“That is the second time you have mentioned a curse, what curse do you speak of?” 

 

“I… have spoken too much already,” she stammered. “My son always say I have loose tongue. Maybe you should wait in your chamber, yes? My son will come to you when he strong again. Yes. Consummate marriage bed, yes?” 

 

Ed blushed warmly. He looked upon Penguin's bared flesh and tried not to show his disgust at such a thought. Strangely he did not find himself repulsed by the sight of Penguin's naked chest and exposed stomach, in fact he felt something stir within him that had nothing to do with disgust. 

 

He slammed the photo down and fled back to his own room. 

 

This place was messing with his mind, it was nothing more. 

 

XxXxXXxXxX

 

Penguin opened his eyes as soon as the boy was gone. 

 

“I knew you faking, you bad boy, very naughty boy,” his mother scolded him. “I like him,” she whispered. 

 

“I like him too,” he confessed. The boy was clever and smart, and brave, and yes handsome as well. He made him feel almost human again, that was a problem. 

 

“He is one,” she whispered. “You will see, Ozzie. He break curse, he one true love.” 

 

There was no  _ curse.  _ There was only the Penguin. And there was no true love for a monster like him. 

 

He had to send the boy away. 

 

XxXxXXxXxX

 

_ ‘You want him,’ the other laughed at him.  _

 

“I don't,” Ed put his arms around his head. 

 

_ ‘You like him,’ the other sang.  _

 

“I do not,” he yelled out. 

 

There was a knock at the door, he looked up. Was it the Penguin, would he even knock, or would he come in like he owned the place and him. He scrambled to his feet and opened the door. He was almost disappointed to find an older woman on a other side, a servant by her uniform. 

 

“Penguin see you now,” she spoke harshly. 

 

“I'm sorry?” he hesitated. “Who are you?”

 

“I am Olga, Mama Gertrud’s personal maid,” she answered. “Penguin see you now. Follow me.” 

 

Ed expected to be taken back to Penguin's bedroom where the unholy marriage could be consummated, as the monster's mother had promised. He was relieved to be taken to what appeared to be a sitting room with a fireplace instead. 

 

“You may leave us, Olga,” the Penguin sat propped up against pillows on the sitting sofa. “Please take a seat, Ed. We have much to discuss and I am sure you have many questions.” 

 

Ed took a seat facing the Penguin, his back to the fireplace he could study the other man without staring rudely. The Penguin coughed deeply into a pale handkerchief, coughing up a black substance. 

 

“But first thing,” he put the handkerchief away and folded his flipper hands on his rotund belly. “You may relax, I do not expect you to fulfill any husbandry duties. In fact I am impotent, which is probably just as well.” 

 

“Your mother mentioned a curse.” 

 

“There is no curse.” The creature looked sad. “My mother is an old woman with flights of fancy who has seen too much tragedy in her life.” 

 

“But you were not born this way,” he pointed out.

 

“Ah, yes, you have seen the photograph. The man in that photo is dead, Ed Nygma.” 

 

“How did… he die?” 

 

“He fell in love with the wrong man.” 

 

“Galavan,” Ed spoke the name like a curse. “It was the Mayor, wasn't it?” 

 

“He was not of course Mayor at the time,” he admitted. “At the time I only knew him as Theodore, or Theo as he was known by his intimates.” 

 

“Were you two very… intimate?” he blushed. 

 

“Not in a manner you are asking,” Penguin answered him. “No, he did not feel the same way I felt about him.”

 

Ed thought he probably should not have felt relief. “What happened?” 

 

“I was seduced by both Theo Galavan his sister Tabitha and her lover Barbara Kean-.”

 

“The witch?” Ed asked surprised. 

 

“Barbara is not really a witch, Ed,” he chuckled. “I was working as Fish Mooney’s umbrella boy and they used me to get to her. And I let them, I assisted them in the ruin of one I almost thought of as a second mother, so you see I deserve this punishment.” 

 

“Was Fish the one that cursed you?” he whispered.

 

“No,” Penguin looked into the fire, perhaps seeing the past. “Theo.. dore asked me to meet him at the docks, alone. I thought that… well, it hardly matters what I thought. Galavan explained to me his plans for becoming the Mayor of Gotham, there was only one more loose end. Me.” 

 

“What did he do?” 

 

“I told him that I loved him, would do anything for him, he laughed and shot me through the stomach and pushed me into the poisoned waters,” his eyes were crying tears of black. “It was my mother and Olga that found me, I don't remember anything of course. I was by that time dead, or mostly dead at any rate. They took my body to the Necromancer Strange and he brought me back like this.” 

 

Ed had heard the name of Strange, thought it was only a boogeyman to frighten children. 

 

“And the curse?” 

 

“My mother believes like all good curses, my curse will be broken by my one true love's kiss,” he laughed bitterly. “Even if it were true, I would still be fated to look this way until my death.” 

 

If Ed had been a little braver he might have offered to kiss the Penguin right then and there. But one look at his black stained lips and he turned his head in fear. 

 

_ ‘Coward, turn me loose, I will do what you are too afraid to do,’ the voice hissed.  _

 

“Are the brides part of the so-called curse?” 

 

“It is Galavan’s idea of a joke,” he coughed. “He believes himself a hero and every hero needs a villain. The people of Gotham love him because they fear the Penguin. It is his way to punish those who would think to go against him. Ivy, Alice, Nora, and Brigit,” he named each of his brides. “They have all lost something at the hands of Galavan. Ivy her father, Nora a husband, Alice and Brigit each a brother. Galavan has bound us together in our hatred of him. I am not the only one here under a so-called curse,” his mouth twisted in a smile. “Ivy’s kiss has the power to persuade any man, Alice’s blood can turn anyone's heart black, Brigit can control fire, and Nora’s lifeblood flows with the ice that is keeping her alive. We have become a family of freaks, but you know something about that, do you not Ed Nygma?” he leaned forward. 

 

“I don't know what you mean,” he panicked, there was no way Penguin could know his mind. 

 

“Do you not? Perhaps I was wrong,” he leaned back again. “I thought I sensed a kindred spirit in you, Ed Nygma. But you have placed my family in danger merely by your presence. Constable Gordon will return with a force and I am too weak to fight his men.” 

 

“What are you saying?” his heart was gripped in fear. 

 

“I am afraid I must ask that you leave, Ed,” the Penguin answered. “It is time for my family to leave Gotham and we cannot risk taking you with us.” 

 

“Where will you go?” 

 

“I am truly sorry but that I cannot tell you,” the Penguin took a chain out of his pocket. “But I give you this to find your way back to us should you change your mind.” Ed took the chain, on the end dangled a piece of the blue fire that lit the Iceberg. “It is a piece of the Iceberg and will guide you home if you want to find us.” 

 

Ed placed the chain around his neck and tucked the pendant beneath his shirt. 

 

“Now please leave me, Ed Nygma. Perhaps in another life we may have been… friends.” 

 

“Good bye, Penguin,” he fled the room before the Penguin could see him cry. 

 

XxXxXXxXxX

 

“You let that boy go,” his mother accused him. 

 

“Yes, mother. I did,” he did not open his eyes. 

 

“You love him.”

 

“Yes, mother. I do.” 

 

“He is the one. Your one true love, Ozzie. You cannot let him leave.” 

 

“That is why I had to let him go.” 

 

XxXxXXxXxX

 

Ed tried, he really did. But Gotham was not his home anymore. The Iceberg was where he belonged. And he had given it up for a place that had never accepted him. 

 

He checked the pendant Penguin had given him but it was still cold and dead. 

 

“Do you mind some company?” Kristen sat across from him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

 

“There's nothing to talk about,” he shrugged. He had only been gone two days, a lifetime ago. 

 

“I cannot imagine what that monster put you through, Ed,” she took his hand. “I haven't been able to sleep for the guilt of leaving you at the mercy of that deformed creature. You can tell me, Ed. Did he… touch you?” 

 

“Penguin was nothing but a gentleman,” he took his hand away. “I did not escape, he let me go.” 

 

“Then why…?” she gasped. “You fell in love with him, didn't you?” 

 

“What if I did?” he blushed. “Would that surprise you, that I fell in love with a man?” 

 

“Oh, Ed,” she giggled. “You've had a crush on Lucius since you were twelve. And Jim since you were sixteen. Plus that phase you went through when you were eighteen and had a crush on Harvey.”

 

“But Penguin isn't exactly a man, is he?” 

 

“Do you love him, Ed?” she asked him bluntly. 

 

“I think so,” he nodded. “Yes, I do.” 

 

“Then it doesn't matter,” she whispered. “I have a secret to tell you, I have found love too.” 

 

“Who is the lucky man?” 

 

“The lucky  _ wo _ man is Leslie Thompkins, the surgeon’s daughter,” she blushed. “We have been dating since last mayday.” 

 

Ed was surprised he felt no jealousy. “I am happy for you both,” he meant it too. 

 

“You have to go back, Ed,” she told him. “If you really love him, you must go back.” 

 

“It's not that easy,” he revealed Penguin's last gift to her. “He gave me this to find my way to the Iceberg but it has gone cold and dead.” It was nothing more than a pretty rock. 

 

“Maybe you need to ask it,” she pushed it towards him. “Go on.” 

 

Ed stood up.

 

“Please show me the way back to Penguin,” he felt foolish for trying but the rock started to pulse with a faint light. 

 

“It worked!” Kristen hugged him. “Now go get to your Penguin.” She kissed his cheek. “But you'll come back for mine and Lee's wedding of course, after all I was there for yours.” 

 

Ed hugged his oldest friend knowing it was more than likely he would never see her again. 

 

XxXxXXxXxX

 

Ed was about to give up when the setting sun reflected against something on the horizon. He held up the enchanted pendant and it's light struck the side of the nearly invisible Iceberg. He ran up to the door and tried to push it open but it was locked. He knocked on the door with his fist. It opened on the third knock. 

 

“You are too late,” Olga let him in. 

 

_ Too late?  _ He couldn't be! 

 

“You!” Ivy charged towards him. “This all your fault, go away, haven't you caused enough damage?” 

 

“What are you talking about? Is Penguin… is he ill?” 

 

“Penguin took to his bed the morning that you left and has not left it since,” Alice restrained Ivy. 

 

“Is he… dead?” he held his breath. 

 

“No, he still lives,” Alice answered his question. “But we are all very worried about him.” 

 

“Will you allow me a see him?” 

 

“He is upstairs in his bedchamber,” Alice told him. “Mama Gertrud has not left his side since he fell ill.” 

 

Ed ran up the stairs to Penguin's bedroom. 

 

Gertrud got out of the chair by the bed and kissed his cheek. “You came back for my boy, I know you would. You help him now, yes.” 

 

“Yes,” he nodded. He would be brave enough this time, he  _ would  _ break the curse. 

 

“Good boy,” she grinned at him. “I leave you alone.” She left him alone with the Penguin.

 

Ed stepped up to the bed, Penguin sat up watching him wearily. His face was drawn and even paler than was usual and the dark circles around his eyes were darker but there was no discharge on his mouth or under his nose. 

 

“You should not have come back,” his voice cracked. “Why have you come?”

 

Ed reached out and touched the Penguin's hand, it is the first time he had seen him without the gloves covering their deformity. He expected the skin to feel cold and slimy but it was warm. 

 

“I can give breath, I can take breath, I have the power to break a curse, what am I?” Ed asked of him. 

 

“Ed, please, don't,” the Penguin begged softly. “There is no curse.” 

 

He knew Penguin spoke the truth but the curse he was under was not only a physical one. 

 

“May I kiss you, Oswald?” he licked his lips nervously. 

 

“I am a weak man, Ed,” he answered. “You offer something I am unable to refuse.” 

 

Ed bent forward and touched his mouth to Penguin's lips. He pulled away and Penguin was still the Penguin but that was okay. He leaned forward to kiss the Penguin again. 

 

Sometimes breaking the curse came without a transformation. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this is so late for Nygmobblepot Week! 
> 
> Thank you for reading!!


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